E-Word of Mouth and Buying Patterns of Consumers: A Thematic Analysis

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of current study is to examine the factors influencing E-word of mouth and to examine the impact of E-word of mouth on buying patterns of consumers towards the product “Samsung 7 in 1 (32cm) HD LED Smart TV”. Methodology: This study is qualitative in nature. Inductive reasoning method is used with 148 data points from Amazon and Flipkart for the product “Samsung 7 in 1 (32cm) HD LED Smart TV”. This is based on customer reviews and a content and thematic analysis has been made created on these reviews to understand the factors influencing E-word of mouth and its impact on buying pattern of consumers. Multiple reviews were observed using qualitative research to obtain a comprehensive description of the product. Findings: Based on the content and thematic analysis seven attributes were considered vital factors for E-word of mouth. The factors of E-word of mouth are product, price, place, promotion, packaging, installation and warranty. As per the current study product, price, place, promotion, packaging, installation and warranty are factors influences consumers on their buying patter of proposed product in this study. Managerial Implication: The 80:20 rules of marketing projects that 20% of your existing customers are happy and satisfied with your product and services, they will create 80% of your future business. This can be positive when customers have positive experience with products and services provided by Marketer. Hence more focus as to be given for the factors mentioned by customers regarding products and services as it will have impact on buying pattern of consumers. Originality of Value: More focus should be given to the reviews which has negative influence towards product proposed. Hence marketers can work on these factors and can improvise their product and brand. It also has various impacts on productivity, revenues and brand image of the organization.

Keywords: E-word of Mouth, Buying Pattern, Consumers, Content Analysis, Thematic Analysis

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